SOUTHERN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
2007

Zeyu He's name might not have a familiar ring now, but just give it a few years.
He, 16, who is from Shenzhen, China, stormed back from four strokes off the pace Thursday with a closing 6-under 66 to take a two-stroke victory in the 35th Southern Junior Championship on the Founders Course at Chenal Country Club in Little Rock June 12-14.
David Harper of Louisville, Kent., finished alone in second with a 3-under 213 total through 54 holes while Trey Sullivan of Aledo, Tex., and Patrick Blunt of Ruston, La. were tied for third with 214 totals.

Alex Carpenter of Little Rock was the highest finisher among Arkansans with an 8th-place finish at 2-over 218. Erik Hearnes of Mayflower finished tied for 14th at 221.The Southern Junior featured top golfers from 22 states and two foreign countries.
"This exceeded my highest expectations,'' said He, who has lived in Bradenton, Fla., the last two years attending the David Leadbetter Golf Academy. "When I started the day, I was hoping to finish in the top-5, which would've been a nice accomplishment for such a big tournament."
He pulled within two strokes of the lead through nine holes after a 2-under 34, but still didn't think about contending.
"It was pretty normal, two birdies and no bogeys," He said. "I had no idea what was to come."
Things started to click on the back side when He ran off birdies at 12, 13, 14 and 16. He made a 6-footer at 12, a 14-footer at 13, a tap-in at 14 before narrowly missing an eagle opportunity at the par-5 16th.

"I knew I was right there but I didn't want to think about it," said He, who was playing three groups ahead of the second-day leaders. "When you try too hard to win a golf tournament, you won't do it. I just tried to stay calm."
He's first confirmation that he had a two-stroke lead was when he spotted a scoreboard just off the 17th green.
"I really wasn't surprised because I had a good round going," He said. He was in the clubhouse at 5-under for the tournament, but wasn't in the clear. Sullivan, who led the first two rounds but was two strokes back after his second consecutive bogey at the 15th, pulled into a tie for the lead with a 3-foot eagle putt at the par-5 16th.
"I had just three-putted two holes for bogeys and knew I was two back, "Sullivan said. "But I hit a 4-iron from about 220 to about three feet [at the 16th]. I wanted to birdie one of the next two holes because I didn't want to go into a playoff. I was so tired."
Fatigue was evident for Sullivan at the par-3 17th when he pushed his tee shot into the water hazard on the right, resulting in a double bogey.
"I tried to hit a three-quarter 6-iron and I blocked it right," Sullivan
said. "It was the first iron shot I missed right this week. I've missed most of them left.
"The second I hit the tee shot, I knew it was over."

While waiting at the 18th green, He quickly got word of Sullivan's stumble.
"I was surprised," said He, who earned an automatic exemption into the Southern Amateur the next month with his victory. "For me, it's great. This is a great victory for me. This is a huge confidence boost."
Tucker Wadkins of Dallas closed with a 73 to take a two-stroke victory in the 13-14 age division over Blaine Woodruff of Acworth, Ga. Drew Greenwood of Hot Springs finished alone in third place with a 223 total. A year earlier, Wadkins had finished second as a 13-year-old at the 34th Southern Junior in Richmond, Va.



Complete results:

13-14 Age Division
Tucker Wadkins, Dallas, Texas 75-73-73--221
Blaine Woodruff, Acworth, Ga. 74-76-73--223
Drew Greenwood, Hot Springs, Ark. 75-76-76--227
Max Barousse, Memphis, Tenn. 75-79-76--230
Jes Sanders, Roger, Ark. 78-74-80--232
Jens Talbert, Little Rock, Ark. 80-77-76--233
Jefferson Ellington, Burlington, N.C. 77-76-80--233
Andrew Hans, Birmingham, Ala. 78-73-82--233
Winburne Hughes, Memphis, Tenn. 78-81-75--234
Zach Olsen, Cordova, Tenn. 77-81-77--235
Sean Romero, Texarkana, Ark. 83-72-81--236
Matthew Mabrey, Little Rock, Ark. 80-79-82--241

Failed to Make Cut:

Joshua Kazanovicz, El Dorado, Ark. 79-81--160
Corbin Renner, Little Rock, Ark. 78-83--161
Alex Hewitt, Little Rock, Ark. 80-82--162
Connor Kurtz, Edmond, Okla. 78-85--163
Rami Alley, North Little Rock, Ark. 79-84--163
Candler McCollum, Little Rock, Ark. 83-83--166
Zak Acuff, Little Rock, Ark. 81-85--166
Noah West, Belden, Miss. 81-87--168
Brad Wilborne, Little Rock, Ark. 83-88--171
Cole Kennedy, Texarkana, Texas 89-83--172
Jake Rylee, Rogers, Ark. 83-90--173

15-18 Age Division

Zeyu He, Bradenton, Fla. 71-74-66--211
David Harper Jr, Louisville, Ky. 68-73-72--213
Patrick Blunt, Ruston, La. 75-67-72--214
Trey Sullivan, Aledo, Texas 67-74-73--214
John Darden, Frisco, Texas 75-71-71--217
Anthony Paolucci, Dallas, Texas 71-73-73--217
Andrew Noto, Luling, La. 71-73-73--217
Alex Carpenter, Little Rock, Ark. 73-73-72--218
Evan Beck, Virginia Beach, Va. 72-76-71--219
Alex Frankel, Atlanta, Ga. 71-72-76--219
Austin Gutgsell, Mandeville, La. 75-72-73--220
Tate Oakley, Pinnacle, N.C. 75-72-73--220
Cabe Prieskorn, Texarkana, Texas 73-72-75--220
J. Erik Hearnes, Mayflower, Ark. 73-75-73--221
Tain Lee, San Juan Capistrano, Calif. 76-75-70--221
Logan Knebels, Alpharetta, Ga. 73-75-73--221
Wilson Orr, Memphis, Tenn. 76-73-73--222
Brad Miller, Timonium, Md. 75-71-76--222
Drew Evans, Dallas, Texas 85-69-69--223
Brad Simons, Mountain Home, Ark. 76-76-71--223
Jack Belote, Bartlett, Tenn. 74-76-73--223
Lee Knox, Augusta, Ga. 77-77-69--223
Alex Castro, Alpharetta, Ga. 74-71-78--223
Ryan Smith, Ardmore, Okla. 70-75-78--223
Brant Peaper, Tequesta, Fla. 78-78--156
Collier Jones, Little Rock, Ark. 78-78--156
Austin Gray, Midlothian, Va. 79-77--156
Garett Wilhite, Mountain Home, Ark. 77-79--156
Sam Love, Trussville, Ala. 76-80--156
Will Beard, Bowling Green, Ky. 77-79--156
Dane Voss, Jonesborough, Tenn. 77-80--157
Nick Wilson, Little Rock, Ark. 76-81--157
Jade Scott, Daingerfeld, Texas 78-79--157
Tanner McDonald, Sterlington, La. 78-79--157
Austen Moix, Conway, Ark. 80-78--158
Adam Baaklini, Fayetteville, Ga. 77-81--158
Zachary Fischer, Wake Village, Texas 79-79--158
Michael Boyd, Windermere, Fla. 74-84--158

Failed to Make Cut:

Richard Blank, Little Rock, Ark. 82-77--159
William Cagney IV, Village of Golf, Fla. 76-83--159
Michael Cathey, Little Rock, Ark. 79-80--159
David Kurtz, Edmond, Okla. 73-86--159
Eli Glass, Metropolis, Ill. 76-83--159
Trent Hill, El Dorado, Ark. 80-80--160
Ryan Hadash, Katy, Texas 79-81--160
Michael Hooper, Edmond, Okla. 80-80--160
Eli Mattioli, Fayetteville, Ark. 81-80--161
Ryan Booth, Homestead, Fla. 83-78--161
Joey Fontenot III, Mobile, Ala. 80-81--161
Eduardo Chavez, Hillsborough, Calif. 79-82--161
John McGoogan, Atlanta, Ga. 81-80--161
Cameron Thomas, Germantown, Tenn. 79-82--161
Garrett Westbrook, Baton Rouge, La. 80-81--161
Jack Wilkes, Roanoke, Va. 78-83--161
Brant DeLongy, Winter Park, Fla. 79-82--161
Shane Gibson, Edmond, Okla. 78-83--161
Chris Spitzmiller, Pilot Knob, Mo. 79-83--162
Seth Knight, Columbus, Ga. 79-83--162
Andrew Flesher, Little Rock, Ark. 81-81--162
Jack Blanchat, Little Rock, Ark. 76-86--162
Kyle Billingsley, Little Rock, Ark. 78-84--162
Seth Sullivant, Mountain Home, Ark. 82-80--162
Patrick Newman, Collierville, Tenn. 81-82--163
John Cleveland Jr, Ridgeland, Miss. 83-80--163
Jack Treat, Conway, Ark. 83-80--163
Josh Rittman, Conway, Ark. 83-81--164
Devyn Albrecht, Dothan, Ala. 86-79--165
Erik Hansen, Deephaven, Minn. 83-82--165
Matt Keller, Rogers, Ark. 82-83--165
Jacob Crowl, Collierville, Tenn. 88-77--165
Rob Gorrell, Richmond, Va. 81-84--165
Randy May, Harrison, Ark. 79-86--165
Sam Mysock, Tulsa, Okla. 81-84--165
Clinton Shepard, West Monroe, La. 81-85--166
Charles Valluzzo, Baton Rouge, La. 86-82--168
Sawyer Radler, Fayetteville, Ark. 85-83--168
Rafael GomezSaucedo, Lerma, EM 81-88--169
Matthew Johnson, Little Rock, Ark. 80-91--171
Rick Rogers, Winston Salem, N.C. 83-89--172
Colt Crymes, Athens, Ga. 84-88--172
Joshua Allen, Little Rock, Ark. 89-83--172
Evan Greenwood, Hot Springs, Ark. 84-90--174
Colin Corcoran, Lake Charles, La. 87-88--175
Tanner Evans, Bella Vista, Ark. 86-89--175
Gardner Lile, Benton, Ark. 88-90--178
Oliver Cobb, Memphis, Tenn. 92-89--181
Weston Brooks, Rogers, Ark. 95-93--188
Baxter Woosley, Little Rock, Ark. 100-98--198
Graham Byrom, Huntsville, Ala. 78-WD--WD